The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I received a notice from the Leader of the Progressive Senate Group who requests, pursuant to rule 4-3(1), that the time provided for the consideration of Senators’ Statements be extended today for the purpose of paying tribute to the Honourable Terry M. Mercer, who will retire from the Senate on May 6, 2022.

Hon. Pat Duncan: Honourable senators, I rise today to honour our colleague, Senator Mercer. Senator Mercer’s distinguished career in the Senate, and his contribution to the Senate and to Canada have been noted. I would like to speak from a very personal perspective.

The Honourable Senator Terry Mercer welcomed Senators Anderson, Kutcher, Moodie and myself to this place on February 19, 2019. He acknowledged that we had been appointed to the Senate in a new way and noted it to be a more transparent method, to be sure. Senator Mercer, at the time the Acting Leader of the Senate Liberals, said that, as senators, we alone would decide whom we would sit with — and he did welcome me to the former Liberal group — and how we would do our jobs.

Among my first experiences in doing my job at committee, I replaced another senator on the Charitable Sector Committee. That meeting happened to include testimony from several witnesses, including the former governor general, David Johnston.

Yukoners who ask me about my work at the Senate always ask, “How is the travel? How often do you get home?” And I always reply that I love the work. The travel, not so much. My response about how much I love the work is because of the experiences like attendance at the Charitable Sector Committee; the Banking, Trade and Commerce Committee; and others, and with working with all of you. The witnesses, the information and ultimately the committee reports are so valuable and so important. They are essential to our growth, our future and to the Canada we aspire to be. When we as senators are able to act, following the leadership of Senators Mercer and Omidvar upon the recommendations in the Charitable Sector report and in other reports, I believe Canadians are truly able to appreciate the work on behalf of Canadians accomplished by Senator Mercer and the Senate of Canada.

Senator Mercer also said in his welcoming remarks that the Senate is always in a constant state of change and that, going forward, we are all going to be finding our way around together. It is that “together” that I would like to conclude my remarks with. Senator Mercer, you welcomed me to the Senate family warmly and have never hesitated to share your knowledge about making a life here in the capital city, how best to work with administration and, most recently, in response to my endless lobbying about the lovely Honeycrisp apples from Nova Scotia, to share your secret to the apple pie recipe.

Senator Mercer, personally and professionally, you have given the Senate and Canadians much, representing your beloved Nova Scotia with distinction and honour. On behalf of all my ISG colleagues, may I offer our heartfelt thanks to the staff who have supported you over the years, to your loved ones who have loaned you to us and to you. Please accept all of our very best wishes for a very happy birthday tomorrow and all the best in your retirement. Thank you. Mähsi’cho. Gùnáłchîsh.

Hon. Patricia Bovey: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association concerning the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Autumn Meeting, held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, from October 3 to 6, 2018.

Hon. Patricia Bovey: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association concerning the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Twenty-First Winter Meeting, held by videoconference, from February 24 to 25, 2022.

Hon. Patricia Bovey: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association concerning the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Nineteenth Autumn Meeting, held by videoconference, from November 3 to 4, 2021.

Senator Mercer: Get to know your colleagues on both sides. You will all be better off.

In this chamber we can debate and argue, disagree and agree. But out there, outside, remember that we are all people who can celebrate friendships, regardless of where we are on the political spectrum. The grand experiment of the Prime Minister is still just that: an experiment.

What will happen in the future? It’s up to us — really to you now — how to navigate it and what changes to keep. What the Senate will look like in the future is up to you. Please do not forget the past, and please do not think that the past was so horrible, because you may end up going back to it.

My prediction has always been that eventually this place will evolve back to where it was. There will be a group sitting over there as the opposition and there will be a group sitting over here as the government, and I would suggest there will be several other groups like we have now. But I think that’s how the place will evolve. You’ll all figure that out on your own. I won’t be here to guide you, although I would be happy to give you advice.

Honourable senators, I would like to thank all of my family and friends, too many to mention, who have been extremely supportive through the good times and the bad.

My cousin John is in the gallery with his wife, Neena. Without them, Ellen and I would not have been able to transition to Ottawa when we first moved here, and we thank them for that. It made our lives so much easier.

To my wife Ellen, whom I recently celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary with, words are not enough. I wouldn’t be here today without you. You are my rock.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question and for underlining an important issue, both for Indigenous communities and for other communities that are reliant on the fishery. The Government of Canada is apprised of this and hopes that a solution can be found to the mutual benefit of all.

Hon. Vernon White: Honourable senators, I would like to ask a question of the Joint Chair of the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency.

Senator Boniface, could you briefly walk the chamber through what stage the committee finds itself at this time, and what path the committee will take in comparison to the recently announced inquiry?

Senator Gold: Thank you again for your question. I certainly will communicate to the government not simply your question but the importance of your question, and the passion with which you address it.

The government is committed to the relationship with Indigenous people on a nation-to-nation basis. It has taken important steps, but they are only initial steps. There is a long history to deal with and unravel. Senator Francis, rest assured that I will communicate this to the government with the deepest conviction that I can.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. At the risk of sounding trite — and it is a serious question — I cannot predict the future. I have confidence, however, that the reviews that were done in the past and those that will be done in the future will be conducted diligently and with the best interests of Canadians at heart. If those reviews show that money or programs have outlived their usefulness or otherwise missed their mark, then I fully expect that those recommendations will be brought forward.

On the other hand, if those reviews show — perhaps surprisingly to some — that, in fact, there are areas where support needs to be increased such that departments — whether it is Canada Border Services Agency, Health Canada or whoever — need more resources to properly serve Canadians and deliver on what Canadians have a right to expect from their governments, then I fully expect governments will have the courage, decency and commitment to do so.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Naomi Woo, the daughter of the Honourable Senator Woo.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

An Hon. Senator: On division.

(Motion as amended agreed to, on division.)

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I move:

That, when the Senate next adjourns after the adoption of this motion, it do stand adjourned until Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at 2 p.m.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. The government’s budget is both a plan and a projection as to how it wants to provide for its operations going forward. It is responsible for governments to identify areas where savings are reasonably expected, and it is almost inevitable that life gets in the way sometimes — as the pandemic most certainly did in the period immediately preceding the questions in February 2020 to which you referred.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Leader, last week I raised with you concerns surrounding your government’s plans to put restrictions on fertilizer use on farms. Today I come to you with a related concern.

Canadian farmers who ordered fertilizer from Russia and Belarus months before sanctions were imposed on March 2 have been hit with a 35% import tariff. I want to be clear, leader: The war in Ukraine is illegal and I support tough sanctions against Russia and its officials. What I don’t support is making Canadian farmers suffer unfairly. Vladimir Putin is not harmed in any way by imposing this 35% tariff on our farmers, as the fertilizer had already been purchased last fall, long before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Leader, will your government exempt Canadian farmers from this 35% import tariff on fertilizer, yes or no?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Honourable colleague, thank you for your question. I don’t know the answer to your question, but I will certainly make inquiries.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

Some Hon. Senators: Agreed.

Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond: Honourable senators, I will be brief. I want to say that being together is important, and we have seen it this week. This chamber was busy, was full of people, and we have had the pleasure to be together. I know that the debates are much better when we are together in this room. I’m convinced that all my colleagues, from whatever side they are, in this room are looking forward to being back in this chamber to do the work together, including those that have to travel one full day to come here and one full day to go back home, while I have the privilege of not having that burden because I can drive back and forth in two hours.

That being said, I am also mindful that as we speak today, there are still thousands of people in hospitals in Quebec who are suffering from a new wave of COVID. We have some colleagues who are immunosuppressed or who have spouses or children who are also immunosuppressed. I think, at the end of the day, that this motion is a reasonable accommodation for the time being, until the end of June.

But I certainly agree with Senator Tannas and with Senator Plett that we should be together here and that the future is that we should all be back here to work together, because I believe in collegiality. I have seen it in committees. It’s not as it used to be and I look forward to having everybody back and enjoying being together and working together to improve bills, to do reports and to debate. Thank you.